Moraine Park Technical College is hosting a free Career Showcase event to anyone interested in learning more about programs offered at the College. The event will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 9, from 4-6:30 p.m. at Moraine Park’s Fond du Lac and West Bend campuses.

The following areas of study will be featured at Fond du Lac and West Bend; business, technology, digital arts, consumer and hospitality services, engineering, environmental sciences and trades, general education, health science and human services.

Attendees will get an overview of the programs from program instructors and staff. Staff from admissions, financial aid, student services and diversity resources (Fond du Lac Campus only) will also be available to meet with prospective students. Participants will receive a $30 application fee waiver valid for applications submitted by Nov. 9, 2013. Prospective students that complete the application at the event are also eligible to win an iPad. Photo ID is required.

For more information about the event or to register, visit morainepark.edu/showcase. Registration for the event is not necessary but is appreciated.

Moraine Park Technical College’s IT Club will be holding its E-cycle event on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. rain or shine at Moraine Park’s Fond du Lac campus. Items can be dropped off in campus parking lot E, closest to the intersection of Johnson Street and University Drive.

Moraine Park Technical College and Habitat for Humanity of Washington and Dodge counties kicked off a very special project on Monday, Sept. 9, as the two organizations joined forces to build a duplex for two deserving West Bend families.

Students from Moraine Park’s Building Trades Construction Worker and Electricity programs will be working alongside Habitat crew volunteers throughout the 2013-14 school year to help build the new home, located just off the corner of Highway 33 and Municipal Drive in West Bend. The students will do everything from staking out the building to wiring the house for electricity. All tasks will give them valuable experience in their trades.

Education isn’t the only thing they are getting, according to Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Russ Wanta.

“You’re changing lives and changing them for the better,” Wanta said during the groundbreaking ceremony. “I know years from now you will share with others what you are doing here. You’ll share it with your wife, your children and your grandchildren. You can tell them how you changed lives.”

Wanta isn’t the only one who thinks this is an exceptional opportunity for the students. Moraine Park Building Trades Construction Worker Instructor Don Enders, who is leading the construction portion of the project, said this opportunity is one that students don’t always get to experience but one he hopes will continue into the future.

“My students are gaining valuable hands-on experience through helping with this build, but equally important is the opportunity they have to positively impact their community,” Enders said. “Thank you to Habitat for Humanity and its partners for making this project possible.”

In total, six Building Trades students will be working on the structural portions of the build. Once the outside structure is complete and construction continues inside, students from the Electricity program, led by Moraine Park Instructor Mike Melaney, will be joining them to complete the electrical work within the home.

This Habitat-Moraine Park partnership is also part of Moraine Park’s service-learning initiative combining community service with classroom instruction. Service-learning aims to give students real-world, hands-on experience in their field while promoting the idea of giving back to the communities they live and learn in.

Moraine Park Technical College will hold a ribbon cutting and celebration Tuesday, Sept. 24, from 5-6:30 p.m. at their Jackson Regional Center to celebrate the opening of their newest educational facility.

The ribbon cutting ceremony and remarks by Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Deputy Secretary Jonathan Barry, Wisconsin Technical College President Morna Foy, West Bend Chamber of Commerce Representative Craig Farrell and Moraine Park President Sheila Ruhland will begin at 5:45 p.m. Tours of the Jackson Regional Center and demonstrations of two VRTEX 360 welding simulation stations will be available throughout the evening.

“Our Jackson Regional Center opens up new possibilities for employers and students in Washington County and the surrounding areas,” said Ruhland. “Moraine Park has been working closely with our local business partners and we look forward to opening this new facility and continuing to meet their training needs as well as providing these opportunities to our students.”

The Jackson Regional Center features welding training but also brings fabrication and additional customized computer numerical control (CNC) training to Washington County. The 9,515 square foot facility houses a welding lab, a CNC lab, two classrooms, two offices and a conference room.

The new welding lab features two VRTEX 360 welding simulation stations, purchased from a $647,000 U.S. Department of Labor Grant. The robotic welders offer many benefits which include helping students achieve baseline skills more quickly and allowing students to practice their welding skills without the waste of costly welding materials.

Moraine Park’s decision to build the new facility was in response to requests from Washington County employers for more job training in welding, fabrication and other advanced manufacturing trade skills beyond the current offerings at Moraine Park’s West Bend campus.

Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be served at the event. RSVP is not required and the public is welcome.

On Friday, Sept. 13, Moraine Park was presented with a framed Owen Gromme print. Gromme (1896-1991), a wildlife artist and conservationist, grew up near the prairie areas of Fond du Lac where Moraine Park currently resides.

The print Moraine Park received is of Gromme’s 1987 oil painting Winter-Ruffed Grouse. Gromme was 91 at the time he painted this piece. He always strived for an anatomically and environmentally accurate portrayal of the bird or animal he was painting.

During the presentation, Julie Balson of the Gallery and Frame Shop shared the following quote from the book, The World of Owen Gromm — “Who Knows? Maybe someday thousands of years from now one of my paintings will be found stored away some place, the only existing record of what that particular bird or animal looked like. But even if that never happens, I feel a deep responsibility to show nature as it really is.”

The print was donated by the Windhover Center of the Arts and the framing was donated by Gallery and Frame Shop.

View stars, constellations and planets using modern telescopes that highlight the mountains and craters on the moon, the cloud bands and largest moons of Jupiter, the remains of supernovae, and even the galaxies outside our own Milky Way.

Discover the wonders of the night sky during “Introduction to Observational Astronomy.”Led by amateur astronomer Jeff Setzer, class participants learn about how stars are formed, the history of the telescope, the structure of the universe and more. Using telescopes, they explore and view the planets and moons of our solar system.

In October, virtually any telescope will show Jupiter's four Galilean moons and their interactions with the planet or its shadow. “Even though it will be low in the sky while class is in session, we will be able to see the major cloud bands on Jupiter itself and the four Galilean moons discovered by Galileo Galilei, in 1609,” said Setzer.

Introduction to Observational Astronomy (CRN 21467) will be held from 8-10 p.m., Mondays and Wednesdays, Sept. 30-Oct. 9, at Moraine Park’s West Bend Campus. To register for either class, call 1-800-472-4554. Please use course number CRN 21467. Registration deadline is September 16, and price is $44.40 (62 or over $34.30).

Moraine Park Technical College is pleased to welcome Michael Hingson, a 9/11 survivor and author of the best- selling book, “Thunder Dog,” as a guest speaker at Moraine Park's three campuses. The event begins at 11:30 a.m. and will be held at the Beaver Dam campus on Monday, Sept. 16, the Fond du Lac campus on Tuesday, Sept. 17; and the West Bend campus on Wednesday, Sept. 18.

Hingson, who has been blind since birth, was working on the 78th floor of Tower One on Sept. 11, 2001, when it was attacked by terrorists. Hingson will share his inspiring story of how he survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog, Roselle, and how he has overcome many life challenges.

Hingson explains it by saying, “My story is not how I escaped the World Trade Center, but rather the story is how I got there in the first place.”

His story will captivate audiences and challenge them to access and strengthen their skills to ease their way through challenges in their work or personal lives.

For information about Hingson, please visit http://michaelhingson.com/. Copies of Hingson’s New York Times best- selling book, “Thunder Dog” will be on sale at the event.

The event is free to the public. Lunch will be available at the Beaver Dam and West Bend campuses for during the presentation at a cost of $5 per person.

Moraine Park Technical College’s International Education program is holding an informational session on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 6:30 p.m. to provide details about their spring 2014 study abroad trip to Morocco, March 12-23.

The session, held in Room O-103 at the Fond du Lac Campus, will provide Moraine Park students and interested community members with trip details, costs, timelines and more. The trip is open to the public. Participants must be at least 18 years of age.

The Morocco trip offers an educational component, a mandatory one-credit spring course prior to the trip that prepares participants for the culture and cuisine of Morocco. The 12-day trip will include several hands-on culinary workshops, lessons from expert culinary guides and an exploration of Morocco’s cultural heritage and unique terrain.

“I am excited to be part of giving students and community members this excellent opportunity,” said Moraine Park Culinary Arts Instructor Tom Endejan, who is coordinating the trip. “This is truly a life-changing experience. I highly encourage anyone interested to come to the informational session and hear first-hand the cultural opportunities this trip has to offer.”

A $150 non-refundable security deposit is due Sept. 26 to secure a spot on the trip.

For more details and a tentative travel itinerary, visit morainepark.edu/morocco. If you are unable to make the information session but would like more information about the Morocco trip, contact Tom Endejan at 920-924-3135 or tendejan@morainepark.edu.

Moraine Park also offers several other study abroad trips including trips to Jamaica and Germany scheduled for 2014. For more information on these study abroad trips or other opportunities offered through Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu/internationaled.

Moraine Park Technical College is offering two courses for aspiring bakers and individuals interested in natural products. The first course, Lotions and Lip Balms will run from 6-9 p.m. and the second, Cake Decorating from 5-9 p.m.; both will be offered at Moraine Park’s Beaver Dam campus on Tuesday, Sept. 24.

The Lotions and Lip Balms will teach students how to make lotions and lip balms using all natural and non-toxic ingredients. Participants can take home their products along with many recipes for future projects. Cost is $24.20 ($19.15 for 62+).

During the Cake Decorating class participants will learn a variety of cake decorating techniques that can be used for holidays and special occasions. Assembling sheet and layered cakes will also be covered. Cost is $24.20 ($19.15 for 62+).

To register for either class, call 1-800-472-4554. Please use course number CRN 20174 for Lotions and Lip Balms and CRN 20176 for Cake Decorating. Registration deadline is Sept. 13 for both courses.

Moraine Park Technical College is hosting a free Community Connections Resource Fair for students and community members. The fair, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., takes place at the West Bend campus on Tuesday, Sept. 10, the Fond du Lac campus on Wednesday, Sept. 11; and the Beaver Dam campus on Thursday, Sept. 12.

The fair will bring representatives from local not-for-profits to educate students and community members about assistance programs and volunteer opportunities available through the organizations. Housing, food, medical, financial, family care and wellness are just a few of the areas these opportunities will be available in.

Moraine Park recently implemented the service learning initiative, which allows students to serve their community and gain hands-on training through their coursework.

Rachel Weber, disability resource specialist at Moraine Park, said the fair is a great way for students to get involved and give back.

“Through this fair we hope to empower students and community members by providing education about the resources available to them for either personal access or participation in serving those in need,” Weber said.